Month: January 2018

The weather had done what it seldom does and saved the best of itself for the weekend. So, in typical fashion, an awkward nights sleep left me barely able to turn my head, thereby rendering pointless the hope of my first decent weekend outing on the bike. Instead I sat with a morning coffee in the conservatory, reading Alistair Humphrey’s microadventure book, a hot water bottle on the back of my neck following a neighbours advice, generally feeling sorry for myself. I felt guilt at not living up to the sentiment of the paragraphs I was reading, so put the book down, grabbed a bag and set off on foot. Continue reading “A right pain in the neck”

The term ‘microadventure’ is, very possibly, another marketing buzz-word dream for outdoor equipment companies, eager to catch a ride on a wave being driven on by it’s own social media hype. So it was, being a slave to such social media hash-tagging, that I decided to plan my first bikepacking microadventure. To ride out one night for a wild camp and then carry on to work the next morning. Continue reading “Bikepacking to Work – A midweek #microadventure”

On my more scenic route home from work, after a railway crossing, there is a gravel road leading off towards the river somewhere, I’ve looked at it regularly, I wonder where it goes. Now, thanks to the Thompson R9300 Gravel and it’s “take me on an adventure” attitude, I’ve found out. I struggled to find much information about the R9300 online, so for anyone else looking at one, read on. Having now ridden in excess of 1000 miles on the R9300, this post has been updated with my further thoughts.

Christmas commitments to see family, working those days many have off in between bank holidays and some typical winter weather combined to reduce the opportunity for cycling, especially my desire for any multi-day bikepacking adventures. So I bridged bikepacking with touring to get some practice for future adventures.